I stopped in to talk to Stuart and he mentioned that they are offering a super deal for people who are considering the Pelotonia ride.

We we're excited when we first heard the rumors last year about a new bike tour coming to central Ohio. We were over the moon when we got the details and saw the facts about what has become the Pelotonia event and it's potential for our community. Now we're ecstatic to have the opportunity to be a partner to the Pelotonia team and throw our efforts behind the event and towards one goal: to end cancer.

roll: is proud to partner with Pelotonia on this exclusive early registration bonus offer. Register to ride in Pelotonia before May 30th and get 10% off any new road bike, PLUS you'll receive a 20% contribution of the cost of your new bike to your individual rider fund raising goals from roll: Simply bring in a copy of your rider registration confirmation to any roll: store to receive your discount and kick start your fundraising goals.

As an added gesture of support and encouragement for all Pelotonia riders, roll: has also committed to donate 10% of all the proceeds from registered riders purchases in our stores between now and the event directly to individual Pelotonia funds. It's our way of saying thank you for your commitment and involvement.

We would like to invite and encourage anyone who has an interest to join our Peloton on the inaugural ride in August by registering at www.pelotonia.org. If you cannot ride, please consider sponsoring someone who has registered. If you cannot sponsor, then you still have the opportunity to be involved by encouraging those who can and perhaps volunteering time to help. There's a lot to do to achieve such a goal!

The City of Columbus currently is planning a critical link in the downtown bikeway network. This 1.4 mile, east-west link not only would accommodate bicyclists, joggers, walkers and other users through downtown but would also complete a link in the 473-mile Ohio to Erie Trail connecting Cincinnati with Cleveland. The proposed trail will provide an identifiable, attractive, safe and convenient trail that engages bicyclists and promotes bike and other non-motorized travel in Central Ohio, and across the state. This trail would extend from North Bank Park to the intersection of Cleveland Avenue and Jack Gibbs Boulevard.

The Downtown Bikeway Connector will provide an identifiable, safe, and convenient route that engages bicyclists within downtown Columbus and promotes and fosters bike use in the Central-Ohio region, and across Ohio.

About My AlibiMy Alibi strongly believes that our world would be a better place if more women got out of their cars and used their bicycles as a supplemental form of transportation. To help encourage this movement, My Alibi is providing fashionable apparel that makes sure you feel beautiful while riding a bike.

Thanks for checking out Signal Cycles. There are two faces behind Signal. Both are mechanics, artists, coffee consumers and cat lovers. Nate is better at cooking, but Matt has way better computer skills. Both are obsessed with making the best bikes they can. As a two man shop Nate and Matt are constantly pushing eachother to make it better. Have a look around at the pages here. If you'd like to talk bikes, drop us an email. Enjoy.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Columbus, Ohio—April 20, 2009—Columbus’ second annual Bike to Work Week (B2WW) celebration has expanded to fill the month of May with a two-week Commuter Challenge, a long and growing list of events, and Bicycle Friendly Businesses offering discounts to cyclists all month.

Bike to Work Week is a program of the League of American Bicyclists, the nation’s oldest bicycle advocacy organization, in which cities throughout the country plan a week of activities to encourage bicycle transportation. Austin Kocher, Columbus’ B2WW organizer for the past two years, says, "Bike to Work Week is a chance for people all over Central Ohio to get the bikes out of their garages and cycle into work, perhaps for the first time. We also have workshops and activities scheduled throughout May to give all cyclists a taste of the city’s diverse and vibrant bicycle community."

The cornerstone of B2WW is the Commuter Challenge, a friendly competition among local organizations to see whose employees can log the most trips by bike. Organizations are separated into five categories based on their number of employees (1–19, 20–99, 100–499, 500–999, or 1000+). Teams earn one point for each of their members’ bicycle commutes from May 4 to May 14; the organization with the highest ratio of points to number of employees wins the category. Winning teams will be announced and acknowledged on May 15 at the free luncheon offered to all Challenge participants by Battelle and Manley-Deas-Kochalski LLC, and CS Courier.

Matt Young, a member of last year’s winning Battelle team, is once again coordinating the Challenge. He notes that last year 393 cyclists on 29 teams replaced 1700 car trips with bicycle commutes totaling 10,000 miles, in just 4 days. This year his goal is to have 1000 cyclists signed up for the expanded 9-day Challenge. Young reminds people considering participation that “It’s the number of trips that count. Fast, slow, long, short commutes — they all count the same. So wear what’s comfortable. Ride the bike you have. If you need help getting started, find a Ride Buddy on our Web site. Take your time and enjoy a new experience that will open your eyes and ears to the city.”

-more-2ND ANNUAL BIKE TO WORK WEEK

Cyclists will also benefit from discounts at many Bicycle Friendly Businesses during May. Restaurateur Liz Lessner is spearheading this campaign through the Central Ohio Restaurant Association to encourage behavior she says “helps our downtown thrive and come alive.” Bicycles are good for business because they “ease parking and traffic problems and create safer, friendly streets,” she says. Lessner will offer “2-wheel discounts” to helmet-wearing cyclists at each of her restaurants and she encourages other business owners to do the same. They can download a Bicycle Friendly Business poster for their storefront, and publicize their discount to Challenge participants, on the B2WW Web site.

The launch of a new Web B2WW site this year — http://b2ww.org — has also made it possible for Challenge participants to create or join their organization’s team, track bicycle trips, learn about events, and map favorite routes online with ease. “We built this tool to support riders during Bike to Work Week. But it will also distinguish Columbus as a place that contributes innovative tools to forward-thinking transportation solutions,” says developer Mike Reed. He intends to use the B2WW platform to serve Central Ohio cyclists and collect data all year long, and ultimately to help other communities brand it for their own needs.

Kocher, citing what he calls “the extraordinary level of innovation and volunteerism demonstrated by the B2WW team,” imagines a new future for Central Ohio in which bicycling is a preferred mode of transportation. “We believe that all people in all communities should get to experience the joys and benefits bicycling has to offer,” he says. “Bike to Work Week is our way of making that happen in a big way. We can then use our momentum to help people incorporate cycling into their everyday lives during the rest of the year."

Central Ohio’s 2009 Bike to Work Week was coordinated by a team of cyclists from Yay Bikes!, Consider Biking, and many local corporations. Information about specific B2WW events and our supporters can be found online at http://b2ww.org.

###

Contact Austin Kocher at 614-406-5037 or ackocher@gmail.com for more information about Bike to Work Week, the Commuter Challenge, Bicycle Friendly Businesses, and the full slate of B2WW activities.

Ohio bike trails represent a vital part of a much larger vision that includes: bicycle advocacy for bike-friendly communities, recreational and commuting opportunities and trail networks, preservation of greenspace, eco-friendly and energy efficient transportation and healthy living. Mountain biking, hiking and related pursuits all play important roles.Our coverage of Ohio multi-use bike trails includes rail-trails, towpaths and the connecting bike lanes and road routes that link them. Related topics can be found on the News, Links & Trailside pages.

The expanding Ohio bike trail networks can best be viewed on the Ohio Trail Maps page where state-wide or individual trail perspectives can be found. For a list of Ohio trail reviews, see the Ohio Review List page.